Shame (2011)

March 6, 2014

2 min read

I am yet to watch 2013 Oscar Best picture “12 Years a slave”, but today I watched the same Director’s (Steve McQueen) previous film Shame (2011). This film is rated NC-17 for its explicit visuals, but these come out part of the entire narrative & feels needed for the story that’s being told.

The film is about a successful, advertising executive living in New York city who is single and trying to find balance and purpose in his personal life. As an interruption to his personal space, his sister imposes to live with him in his tiny apartment. The personal struggle of the protagonist may be difficult to understand outside the western world, but the Director has done his best to get it across widely. The film doesn’t have any clear or happy movie ending, as life is a stream and not a race.

The entire film is about a single character and his inner feelings, this is difficult to portray on screen but Michael Fassbender has done an exemplary job. The film has lot of close-up shots through which the Director makes us feel closer with respective characters. Lot of scenes happen inside New York subway train giving us an impression that we are a fellow rider.